Turkey is passing through a pivotal moment in its history when it has to encounter cross-currents of political instability compounded by a challenging security scenario involving domestic and external elements. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was confident of a resounding victory in parliamentary elections on June 7. But that was not to be. Though AKP emerged as the single largest party, it was unable to muster a majority. This came as a blow to Erdogan and the lofty ambitions he nurtured while being ensconced in his ostentatious presidential palace in Ankara.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s hectic parleys for more than two months with political rivals for a ruling coalition has yielded no results. The AKP leader gave up two days ago and met Erdogan to formally announce the failure of his bid to stitch up a viable coalition.
The security situation in the nation that straddles Asia and Europe across the Bosphorus is rapidly becoming challenging. The climb for Davutoglu is a steep one, buffeted as he is with the demands of looming fresh elections and the need to shield the country from an exacerbating security crisis. The country is in the crosshairs of the Islamic State with the brutal jihadists waging a fierce battle in Syria and Iraq, Turkey’s close neighbours. An IS video a few days ago talked about ‘conquering Istanbul.’ Rebel groups from within the country are as much of a threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) member. Kurdish rebel group PKK has relaunched attacks on military targets, renewing hostilities with the Turkish state for the first time since a 2013 ceasefire took hold. An ultra-left group has been mounting attacks on security forces and other targets. A popular tourist spot in Istanbul, Dolmabahce Palace, was attacked on Wednesday by gunmen belonging to the far-Left Marxist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C).
Political uncertainty and a worsening security crisis have led to the Lira losing value against the dollar. Yesterday, the Turkish currency crossed the barrier of three Liras to a dollar after losing a chunk of its value since the beginning of the year.
The election body yesterday offered a date of November 1 for snap polls that is waiting for acceptance by all political parties. Meanwhile, the AKP has been trying hard to meet the constitutional requirement of a power-sharing interim government by roping in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) till early elections are held. Davutoglu has been trying to factor in the difficulties of inviting the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which has been accused of ties with PKK.
The challenges the ruling AKP and the Turkish prime minister face are multifarious and Davutoglu will have a hard time beating the hurdles. How he deals with the challenges will test his political acumen and leadership skills•
Turkey is passing through a pivotal moment in its history when it has to encounter cross-currents of political instability compounded by a challenging security scenario involving domestic and external elements. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was confident of a resounding victory in parliamentary elections on June 7. But that was not to be. Though AKP emerged as the single largest party, it was unable to muster a majority. This came as a blow to Erdogan and the lofty ambitions he nurtured while being ensconced in his ostentatious presidential palace in Ankara.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s hectic parleys for more than two months with political rivals for a ruling coalition has yielded no results. The AKP leader gave up two days ago and met Erdogan to formally announce the failure of his bid to stitch up a viable coalition.
The security situation in the nation that straddles Asia and Europe across the Bosphorus is rapidly becoming challenging. The climb for Davutoglu is a steep one, buffeted as he is with the demands of looming fresh elections and the need to shield the country from an exacerbating security crisis. The country is in the crosshairs of the Islamic State with the brutal jihadists waging a fierce battle in Syria and Iraq, Turkey’s close neighbours. An IS video a few days ago talked about ‘conquering Istanbul.’ Rebel groups from within the country are as much of a threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) member. Kurdish rebel group PKK has relaunched attacks on military targets, renewing hostilities with the Turkish state for the first time since a 2013 ceasefire took hold. An ultra-left group has been mounting attacks on security forces and other targets. A popular tourist spot in Istanbul, Dolmabahce Palace, was attacked on Wednesday by gunmen belonging to the far-Left Marxist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C).
Political uncertainty and a worsening security crisis have led to the Lira losing value against the dollar. Yesterday, the Turkish currency crossed the barrier of three Liras to a dollar after losing a chunk of its value since the beginning of the year.
The election body yesterday offered a date of November 1 for snap polls that is waiting for acceptance by all political parties. Meanwhile, the AKP has been trying hard to meet the constitutional requirement of a power-sharing interim government by roping in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) till early elections are held. Davutoglu has been trying to factor in the difficulties of inviting the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which has been accused of ties with PKK.
The challenges the ruling AKP and the Turkish prime minister face are multifarious and Davutoglu will have a hard time beating the hurdles. How he deals with the challenges will test his political acumen and leadership skills•
